Study: ‘Weight-ism’ Is Bigger Than Racism (via emilyposts)
… weight discrimination is spiraling upward, and that’s a dangerous trend that could add fuel to the obesity epidemic.
The study argues that discrimination against fat people should be illegal, just like discrimination based on race, age, or gender.
Personally, I don’t see the connection… being overweight is just as much of a lifestyle and personality decision as smoking, being annoying, or listening to bad music. Sure, it’s hard to change it once you’re there. But it’s not impossible, and it’s not the world’s fault that you got there in the first place.
People shouldn’t be prohibited from thinking negatively of people who are overweight because of their decisions.
(Also, this picture… they couldn’t have picked a better representative? Is that a pair of 2-liter soda bottles in that shopping bag?)
FTA: “The social current driving this is the obvious fact that no one is responsible for his or her race, or gender or even age. That’s a given. But the traditional thinking goes that people should be able to control their weight, so if they’re obese, it’s their fault … Many uncontrollable factors contribute to obesity, like genetics and some diseases, yet we still blame the individual.”
I’m tall and lanky, so my position certainly isn’t born out of defensiveness… I just don’t think it’s that cut-and-dry.
